Mayors Look Ahead to 2020

4378

By Allison Perrine | Photos by Patrick Olivero

It’s 2020. A new year means the opportunity for a fresh start. It’s a time for new beginnings, plans and projects.

We wanted to know what that means to our mayors in the Two River area. The Two River Times recently reached out to local government leaders and asked what they are personally excited about in their home- towns in 2020.

We also couldn’t resist asking them this second question: “What is some- thing people don’t know about your town, but should?” The answers may surprise you.

Here’s what’s coming to Two River towns in 2020, in Fair Haven, Little Silver, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Red Bank, Rumson and Shrewsbury

It was great to hear about the plans from many of our local mayors, but not all mayors in the Two River area are continuing on another year. Some mayors will be named by their governing bodies at reorganizations in the new year, and some did not respond.


Benjamin Lucarelli, Mayor of Fair Haven

Benjamin Lucarelli
Benjamin Lucarelli

Throughout 2019, the borough’s communication committee worked very hard to improve direct communications with our residents. We now have in place a variety of communications formats, which include a borough Facebook page, email blasts, a quarterly newsletter, an electronic sign and a weekly “What’s Happening in Fair Haven” email that is comprehensive and very informative. I am also very pleased to announce that during the week of Dec. 23, the borough went live with a new website that has been designed to be robust and very easy to navigate.

The borough will continue to host many celebrations that bring us together as a community, such as Fair Haven Day 2020, holiday egg hunts, our fishing derby, seasonal parades, Oktoberfest and our numerous holiday celebrations.

I also know that our residents are going to greatly enjoy our newly opened Williams, Albert and Robarts Park, located on DeNormandie Avenue. This park offers a place for quiet reflection and a beautiful view of the Navesink River, as well as providing residents public access to the riverfront. In spring 2020, in response to the requests that came out of the borough’s 2015 Master Plan Survey, the borough anticipates increasing public access to the riverfront by going out to bid to renovate three additional pocket parks.

Finally, in early 2020, I will be forming a committee to explore a local open space referendum. The referendum would need to be approved by the voters and it would offer a dedicated source of funding for the borough’s 80-plus acres of parks and recreation areas, our natural areas, our ponds and our riverfront. I am looking forward to working with them and I believe this initiative will be very well received by our community.

Did you know that…

…the Borough of Fair Haven has over 300 volunteers who work tirelessly to help make this community a great place to live. Our extensive list of volunteers includes, but is not limited to, our fire and first aid departments, our board, committee and commission members, our youth sport coaches, our garden club members and our various elected officials. All of our volunteers have one thing in common: They truly love the town of Fair Haven and they put in many long hours, without receiving any compensation for their valuable time. I am very proud to be the mayor of this fine town and I am pleased to be given the opportunity to publicly recognize and thank all of our volunteers.


Bob Neff

Robert Neff, Jr., Mayor of Little Silver

Sidewalks. It’s not a real sexy thing to be excited about, but sidewalks can be critically important for pedestrian safety, particularly along routes to school, the downtown and the train station. We’re excited to have qualified for a loan from a state program that is half interest-free, making our program affordable when it might otherwise have had a major impact on finances. Sidewalks were just finished along an entire side of Branch Avenue and we’re looking to extend the sidewalk on the north end of Prospect all the way to Harding Road next. We’re also looking at installing a sidewalk on one side of Kings Road and redoing sections of sidewalks on Pinkney, Seven Bridges, areas near the train station, Harding Road and others, including potential new crosswalks. We’re also pleased with just having received a $270,000 grant to repave Silverside – in addition to the recent grant to repave Markham Place – and the county in the spring will be repaving the rest of Branch Avenue. Along with the streets in our 2020 road program and the county’s dredging of the Parker Homestead pond this fall, all of these infrastructure improvements will help keep Little Silver a wonderful, safe place to raise families, shop, go to school and (dare I say it?) retire.

Did you know that…

…we have extraordinary and hard-working volunteer services members. Our fire department, our EMS, our fire police – they not only put in long hours training and responding to calls, but focus on bringing along new members to ensure that our residents are kept safe well into the future. And if it weren’t for the highly competent people in the police department, public works, administration, library, Parker Homestead trustees, our committees, boards and commissions, and so many others, serving as a public official would be extraordinarily difficult. We’re lucky here in Little Silver and feeling blessed.


Tony Perry
Tony Perry

Tony Perry, Mayor of Middletown Township

We have a lot of exciting initiatives planned for 2020. Middletown will be launching a “Your Trail to the Shore” campaign which will provide a platform to showcase our incredible parks, easy access to our beautiful beachfront and everything in between.

Middletown will be the first municipality in the state to provide residents in the Two River and Bayshore areas with a way to recycle Styrofoam. The new Styrofoam recycler will enable the town to repurpose a product that takes thousands of years to decompose. This machine will take Styrofoam out of the trash stream, bring in some revenue for the town and will further enhance Middletown’s excellent track record of leading the charge in sustainability.

Also, for the first time in 30 years, Middletown will be hosting a fireworks display. It will be held July 1 at Bayshore Waterfront Park in Port Monmouth and will offer lots of entertainment for the community.

Did you know that…

…Sandy Hook is part of Middletown Township? We are very proud of that. Middletown has also been a prime location to shoot film and TV productions, especially since the passage of the film industry tax credit in New Jersey last year. Most recently, HGTV filmed an episode of “Beach Hunters” here and the ABC series “Emergence” has been filming at the Belford Seafood Co-Op regularly.


Sue Howard
Sue Howard

Sue Howard, Mayor of Monmouth Beach

I am very pleased and excited that we are able to provide so many events throughout the year that bring our residents together. We will continue these traditional events in 2020 which include our Memorial Day ceremony, Monmouth Beach Day fireworks, our Veterans Day ceremony and breakfast, and the Christmas tree lighting and menorah lighting sponsored by the Monmouth Beach Recreation Commission.

Our Monmouth Beach Recreation Commission continues to offer many great programs throughout the year for the entire family. Program offerings include soccer, basketball, baseball, softball, tennis, competitive swimming for our youth, a Junior Guard program and our newest program, adult pickle ball.

Our environmental commission is very active. In 2020 we look forward to the installation of rain gardens in the borough as the commission works with Rutgers University guidance to insure our gardens’ success.

Our beautiful Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion will continue to offer fun in the sun for not only Monmouth Beach residents but for surrounding neighborhoods. The bathing pavilion provides an enjoyable beach experience complete with deck views of the ocean, seating and dining areas in the sun or shade, a full service snack bar, outside and inside showers and restroom facilities. We invite bands throughout the summer to perform at the pavilion to standing room-only crowds.

As we prepare our 2020 Capital Improvement Plan, we will continue to upgrade our streets, parks and buildings. Recently, through a County Open Space Grant and donations from the community, we installed a new ADA-compliant playground with equipment for varying age groups.

Finally, as mayor and commissioners, we have been successful in maintaining a consistent tax rate year over year without causing a loss of service or programs for our residents.

Did you know that…

…our Monmouth Beach School holds programs throughout the year to expose our students to the value and importance of our Veterans, as well as to the environmental issues we face as a shore community? The Monmouth Beach Police Department is very active in our community offering school safety programs, an annual Halloween Party for our youth, prescription drug take back programs and quick responses to all calls in Monmouth Beach as well as when needed in our neighboring communities.


Jay Coffey, Mayor of Oceanport

Jay Coffey
Jay Coffey

2020 will mark the 100th anniversary of the incorporation of the Borough of Oceanport. The Oceanport Historical Committee is hard at work putting together our Centennial Celebration Gala and a whole host of other events throughout the year, all of which are designed to explore, share and celebrate the incredibly interesting and often complicated history of Oceanport. We hope to be in our new municipal complex in the Fort Monmouth section of Oceanport, located on the newly created street “Oceanport Way,” by late August 2020. This municipal complex will house our municipal court, borough offices, department of public works and police department and will provide for “one stop shopping” for our residents when it comes to municipal matters. It has been over 7 years since we lost our old municipal complex to Hurricane Sandy and our relocation to Oceanport Way can’t come soon enough for all concerned. Oceanport’s voters, moreover, recently approved a $33 million dollar school improvement referendum and this is a clarion call to all current and potential residents of Oceanport that we are committed to providing a 21st century education to our children.

Did you know that…

…Oceanport has an incredibly vibrant and involved volunteer community that covers the spectrum from 9 to 90? Our scouting programs and our recreation and travel sports programs are chock full of opportunities for kids and adults alike. Our senior citizens are highly organized, gather together on a regular basis and are an integral part of Oceanport’s social fabric, as are the Oceanport Lions Club, our volunteer emergency service members and the Oceanport Garden Club. While Oceanport has neither an ocean nor a port, it is surrounded by water on three sides and our residents take full advantage of the Shrewsbury River 12 months a year.  Most people know that Oceanport is the home of Monmouth Park Racetrack, the East Coast’s most beautiful, historic and conveniently located racetrack. What most people don’t know is that Oceanport will grow by almost a third in area and population within the next 10 years as a result of Fort Monmouth’s closure and redevelopment. While the Oceanport we all know and love will stay the same, the fort’s redevelopment will provide new revenue streams for the borough, allow us to grow our commercial tax base and enable the growth of entertainment and living opportunities for our residents and surrounding communities.


Pasquale Menna
Pasquale Menna

Pasquale Menna, Mayor of Red Bank

Red Bank inaugurates 2020 with excitement in the continuation of the vision of recharging our urban downtown center with exciting new state-of-the-art residential structures that will provide increased vibrancy to our commercial center while at the same time addressing the housing needs of our younger citizens, “step down” housing residents and provide affordable housing opportunities to keep families together. The train station area is in for an extraordinary transformation that will make it and the West Side district a fulcrum for economic and entertainment activity that highlights our diversity. People will increasingly want to live, work and play in our downtown and arts district.

Did you know that…

…we have an amazing public school system where our young stars achieve Herculean accomplishments every day and their multilingual and diverse cultural scene is great training for youth as they advance toward a global society.


Joseph Hemphill
Joseph Hemphill

Joseph Hemphill, Mayor of Rumson

I am proud to continue our annual community-based events, such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Spring and Fall Green Days for bulk electronic and secure document recycling, Memorial Day parade and ceremony, Rumson Halloween party, Veterans Day ceremony, and a variety of holiday season events, including the traditional Rumson Christmas tree lighting, menorah lighting, and Department of Public Works-led toy drive.

Our Rumson Recreation programs continue to excel, offering multiple participation opportunities throughout the year for the entire family. Such programs include, but are not limited to, soccer, flag football, basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, field hockey, girls lacrosse, adult pickle ball and seasonal education initiatives for our volunteer coaches.

With our aggressive Capital Improvement Plan, we are continually upgrading our streets, parks, buildings and utilities. Most recent plans include the completion of the Piping Rock Park Project (including the renovation of the borough storage building)and the start of our Lafayette Street Area Improvement Project. The borough also intends to construct a full-size, multipurpose field at the Meadow Ridge Park West Field and replace the playground and fitness equipment at Meadow Ridge Park.

Finally, the borough has held on to its Moody’s Bond Rating of Aaa for years due to our strong financial management, future planning and the forward thinking of our staff and volunteers that help run our Borough.

Did you know that…

…the Borough of Rumson mayor, council, board members and commissioners are all made up of volunteers? Unlike many other towns, all the volunteers serve our community as true volunteers and receive no compensation for their time donated to helping run our borough.


Erik Anderson
Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson, Mayor of Shrewsbury Borough

In 2020 I am excited about two projects which will improve communication with our residents.  The first project is a complete overhaul of our website. The new site will provide easy and streamlined access to important information about our town. The other project involves Shrewsbury rolling out a new mass notification system known as CivicReady. This system will allow our community to receive up-to-date alerts and notifications. CivicReady will allow residents to select the types of alerts and notifications they wish to receive.

Did you know that…

…volunteers play an essential role in operations of our town and ensuring that its residents are safe? The Shrewsbury Hose Company and the First Aid Squad are comprised entirely of volunteers who work each day to protect the wellbeing of our residents. Additionally, residents volunteer their time on many borough boards and commissions, such as the recreation commission, board of education, and council. Our volunteers are simply the best and their efforts are instrumental in making Shrewsbury such a great place to live, work and raise a family.